Apartment Inspections

Before getting too worked up about “Council OKs Apartment Inspection Reform Plan,” (July 1), one must consider some points not clarified in this story.

Although the interior habitability issue is the primary issue, one must not lose sight of the fact that exterior decay and blight are also important to the betterment of our communities. Is the Housing Department going to issue citations for such decay and blight caused by broken and rotted fencing? What about overgrown shrubbery, weeds, trash, graffiti and decayed exterior conditions and deteriorated paint? These conditions cause a poor image to be conveyed to the rest of those property owners and the public. There can be little debate that when slumlords allow their properties to decay, other owners find it hard to invest their time, money and energy to keep up their investments.

Related to the issue of “tenants from hell”: Property owners do and have always had the right to evict a tenant.

ROBERT L. LOVERIDGE, North Hollywood